Mitchell scores 26 as Cavaliers rally and defeat Timberwolves 127-125 in overtime

CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell had 26 points, including five points in overtime, and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-125 despite 47 points from Anthony Edwards.

James Harden added 19 points, including a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left, and Evan Mobley scored 18 for the Cavaliers, who have won their last four home games against the Timberwolves.

Meleek Thomas, the 34th overall pick in June’s NBA Draft, scored 16 in his NBA debut.

It is the seventh time in Edwards' five-year career he has had at least 47 points in a game. It is the most he has scored against Cleveland.

Edwards was 19 of 33 from the floor, but only 5 of 15 on 3-pointers. Jaden McDaniels had 14 points before he fouled out. Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 14 off the bench.

There were 15 lead changes and five ties in the last 21 1/2 minutes

Edwards made a 3-pointer to even it at 121 before Mitchell sank a 19-foot fadeaway jumper with 48 seconds left to give the Cavaliers the lead for good.

Harden's two free throws with 13 seconds remaining put Cleveland up 125-122. Sam Merrill fouled LaMelo Ball with 9.2 seconds left but Ball missed both free throws. Edwards got the rebound and missed a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the key.

Peyton Watson then put it out of reach by sinking both his foul shots with 3.9 seconds left.

Harden tied it at 113 with 10.4 seconds remaining in regulation on a 7-foot floater from the left corner.

Minnesota led by 15 points in the second quarter and was up 69-58 with 7:31 left in the first quarter before Cleveland scored 12 straight points, including eight by Harden.

Timberwolves: Host the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.

Cavaliers: Host the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.

See AP’s full NBA coverage here

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Meleek Thomas shoots and hits a three-point basket in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) shoots as Cleveland Cavaliers guard Jaylon Tyson (20) defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) gestures in overtime of an NBA basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) shoots over Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden, right, defends Minnesota Timberwolves guard LaMelo Ball, left, in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu, top, blocks a shot by Cleveland Cavaliers guard Peyton Watson (8) in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu (13) shoots in front of Cleveland Cavaliers guard Meleek Thomas, left, and guard Peyton Watson, rear, in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge agreed Monday to extend an order blocking the Trump administration’s renovation plans for a century-old public golf course in the nation’s capital.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued a preliminary injunction that temporarily bars the government from removing or damaging any additional trees on the East Potomac Golf Course. The administration must give 10 days’ notice in writing before making any "irreparable modification” to any “forms or features” of the course while the lawsuit is active.

“The Court earlier stated, ‘I am not the Lorax. I do not speak for the trees.’ The Court still does not speak for the trees. It speaks only for the rule of law,” Reyes wrote.

Reyes expressed astonishment that the government has asked her to “not to believe the sitting President” and disregard Trump’s statements about his plans for the golf course renovations.

“This started as a case about golf. That good walk spoiled. But it has become much more,” Reyes wrote. “It now forces the Court to reconcile assertions by President Donald J. Trump with the sworn testimony of multiple government employees and the argument of senior Department of Justice attorneys.”

On Oct. 18, Trump announced plans on social media to close the golf course for 15 months, starting Nov. 15, and redevelop the 106-year-old park and course despite a court challenge by the D.C. Preservation League and two golfers. A day later, Trump posted that the work would start immediately.

Reyes, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Joe Biden, previously ordered the administration to suspend work on the project until at least Oct. 26.

Trump was asked about the case late Monday night as he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland following a rally in Mississippi and indicated that work on the golf course will proceed as planned.

“It has the go-ahead. The judge feels that she would like to approve it as it goes along. And I didn’t know she was an architectural critic of golf courses,” Trump said sarcastically.

He added of the judge: “She knows nothing about that, so we’ll appeal that” while also calling his planned overhaul a “beautiful project for Washington, D.C.”

Trump later in a social media post reiterated a statement he made Oct. 18 that the course would close for 15 months. “We are closing the East Potomac Golf Course Site as scheduled on November 15th in order to renovate and rebuild for Competitive (with other such projects!), Safety, Modernization, and Aesthetic reasons," he wrote.

The plaintiffs challenging the project, DC Preservation League and two golfers, claim the work is inflicting irreversible damage. At a hearing, the judge excoriated the government after workers cut down at least 400 trees over a holiday weekend with little notice to the plaintiffs.

The course renovation project is part of the Republican president’s aggressive campaign to leave his personal imprint on Washington’s historic landscape. Those plans include construction of a huge ballroom at the White House, a massive arch and the creation of a National Garden of American Heroes in West Potomac Park. DC Preservation League is part of a coalition of organizations, including the Cultural Landscape Foundation and one D.C. resident, who have filed lawsuit challenging those plans.

Reyes rejected the administration’s request for her to recuse herself from the case. The government questioned her impartiality and accused her of engaging in “egregious” behavior from the bench during an emergency hearing in the case.

In Monday's ruling Reyes stressed that she had hoped the parties could have resolved their dispute without judicial intervention. She noted that she had denied plaintiffs’ previous requests.

“The Court would much prefer not to have to resolve Lorax v. Once‑ler redux. Indeed, for months, the Court declined to intervene,” she wrote.

But she said the government forced her hand by bulldozing hundreds of trees without any notice, doing “what it assured all it would not do.”

Reyes quoted from a golf-related opinion written by the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative icon, in stressing the temporary nature of her own decision.

“Here, golf and government have again clashed,” Reyes wrote. “By issuing this preliminary injunction, the Court does not end the round: it simply marks the ball until the parties can fully and fairly litigate this case.

Democracy Forward President & CEO Skye Perryman, whose organization is co-counsel representing the plaintiffs, called the ruling “a big win that will rightly protect East Potomac Park from further irreparable harm.” She added, in an email, that the move will stop activities “while the case continues, and we are eager to argue the case in court.”

An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to Perryman as “he.” This version corrects her identity to “she.”

Associated Press reporters Gary Fields and Will Weissert contributed.

The Washington Monument is seen as a golfer takes a swing at East Potomac Park Golf Course, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

The Washington Monument is seen past stumps of removed trees at East Potomac Park Golf Course, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)